Take the pledge to vote

Thank you for taking the pledge

Vote responsibly as each vote counts
and makes a diffrence

Disclaimer:

Issued in public interest by HDFC Life. HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited (Formerly HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Limited) (“HDFC Life”). CIN: L65110MH2000PLC128245, IRDAI Reg. No. 101 . The name/letters "HDFC" in the name/logo of the company belongs to Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited ("HDFC Limited") and is used by HDFC Life under an agreement entered into with HDFC Limited. ARN EU/04/19/13618

Congress Party's Decision Not to Field Priyanka Against Modi Disappointing: Arun Jaitley

Targeting the Gandhis, Jaitley said the myth that 'Priyanka will make a difference' has been eroded.

File photo of Union finance minister Arun Jaitley.

Loading...

New Delhi: Taking a dig at Congress, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Thursday said he was "disappointed" by the party's decision of not fielding Priyanka Gandhi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi after building up a "suspense for an eventual thriller" in the Lok Sabha elections.

Modi is contesting from Varanasi for the Lok Sabha and there were speculations that Congress would field Priyanka against him. However, the party Thursday again named Ajay Rai, a political lightweight who was a distant third after Modi and Arvind Kejriwal in the 2014 general election, as its candidate from the holy city.

"The build-up of the last two weeks had been that Priyanka would be fielded against the Prime Minister. She rejoiced in giving daily bytes to the media that she was ready to take on the Prime Minister. Her brother (Congress President Rahul Gandhi) claimed that the party was building up the suspense for an eventual thriller.

"Obviously, she quietly chickened out of the contest. I am deeply disappointed with the Congress party's decision of not fielding Priyanka from Varanasi," Jaitley wrote in a Facebook post titled 'Refuge in Wayanad and a Refuge Away From Varanasi The Story of a Family Dynasty'.

Targeting the Gandhis, Jaitley said the myth that 'Priyanka will make a difference' has been eroded.

Comparing developmental works in Amethi and Rae Bareli -- the traditional constituencies of Gandhi's -- with Varanasi, Jaitley said, "The cards are out in the open for public scrutiny. The Gandhis must introspect the plight of Amethi and Rae Bareli in the last forty years and compare it to what the Prime Minister has done in Varanasi in the past five years".

Jaitley said several development works, including the building of highways, arterial roads and modernisation of electricity systems, have taken place in Varanasi in the last five years.

Speculation on Priyanka Gandhi making her political debut from Varanasi was fuelled after Congress president Rahul Gandhi, to a question on whether he planned to field his sister against PM Modi, said last week, "I will leave you in suspense. Suspense is not always a bad thing."

Jaitley said had Congress fielded Priyanka against Modi, it would have given India an opportunity to decide the fate of a "tried, tested and successful leader" as against a "new political dynast".

India is not a banana republic, the minister said, adding "It is only juvenile politics, where a family lives under an illusion that people will accept it irrespective of credentials, which persuades you to build a climax of Priyanka taking on the Prime Minister and then suffer the wrath of the anti-climax." (Get detailed and live results of each and every seat in the Lok Sabha elections and state Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim to know which candidate/party is leading or trailing and to know who has won and who has lost and by what margin. Our one-of-its-kind Election Analytics Centre lets you don a psephologist’s hat and turn into an election expert. Know interesting facts and trivia about the elections and see our informative graphics. Elections = News18)